All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 163 - 23 Taking the Blame for Others

Chapter 163: Chapter 23 Taking the Blame for Others

"There’s no need to thank me. I am very clear that you are definitely not a scout."

Upon hearing An Jing’s gratitude, from behind the teahouse, within the shadows, an old lady sitting behind the counter laughed, "Wang certainly has no ill intentions toward you, but he is overly responsible and easily deceived by others."

"However, listen to an old person’s advice... if possible, you should leave as soon as you can. Ming City is no longer a blessed land these days."

An Jing lowered his gaze, well aware of Granny Huai’s confidence. It came from her realization that he was not truly from Dust Li. Since this was the case, he definitely wasn’t a Northern Barbarians scout.

But a Da Chen person disguising as a Dust Li, this fact was even more suspicious, so why didn’t she mind?

The identity of this old lady was also quite mysterious.

"Anyway."

An Jing repeated, "Thank you for speaking up for me. I’ll be careful."

"Also, the flavor of your milk tea is truly excellent."

An Jing clasped his hands together in thanks, bought another portion of salty milk tea, and the old lady personally handed it to him with a smile.

’Unintentionally,’ An Jing touched Granny Huai’s hand, his expression remained unchanged, but his heart gave a slight start.

— No pulse, a cold hand?

Was this... the touch of the dead?

Ultimately, until the very end, An Jing didn’t say much. After finishing his tea, he went straight back to the inn.

Behind him, Huai’s Tea House was nestled in the shadows of the street corner.

Inside Huai’s Teahouse.

In the shadows, Granny Huai returned to the back room.

If the main hall of the teahouse was only dimly lit, then the back room of the teahouse was so dark you literally couldn’t see your hand in front of you; daylight couldn’t penetrate there at all.

Yet, the old lady moved about with ease in these shadows as if it were broad daylight.

She opened a hidden door, and behind the door, a pair of tender and crystal-clear eyes, mysterious with a golden glint, lit up.

"Little girl, it’s all right now."

She spoke softly, "Those people who might be coming for you happened to encounter a young man with solid skills and secrets of his own. He took the trouble for you, nearly got thrown into jail."

"If he really had been caught, with his skills, he probably wouldn’t have had any problems; I fear there aren’t many in Ming City who could stop him."

"In the midst of chaos, all attention would have been focused on him, you certainly would have been a lot safer."

"But then, maybe a lot of people would have died... I couldn’t help but intervene to get him out of that encirclement. I hope you won’t blame me."

"It’s okay, Granny."

A voice that sounded timid but surprisingly fluent responded, "You found me pitiable and sheltered me; naturally, you would help that young man, too. That’s just who you are, your ’fate.’"

"Moreover, the disaster that haunts me is not something ordinary people can avert. If that passerby managed to escape unscathed, I’m also relieved. It’s as if I’ve accumulated some virtue; perhaps that will bring a little bit of good fortune."

"Such a good girl, I don’t know why those people want to kill you."

The old lady sighed softly and then said warmly, "However, this is not a good place to avoid disaster; there are many eyes on it... When the opportunity arises, I have to get you out of the city."

"I hope everything goes smoothly."

"Smoothly... huh." The girl with the mysterious pupils and golden eyes murmured to herself before falling into silence.

And Granny Huai too closed the door, sealing everything into shadows.

"That old lady has a Fate Pattern."

In the inn, the Sword Spirit declared with certainty, "And it is a Fate Pattern that has awakened a Divine Skill, at least a Lifebound one."

"Living in a place where Feng Shui converges, and possessing such a Fate Pattern... An Jing, I suspect that you might have been shielding someone from disaster. The target of those people, or at least their initial target, might not have been you. They just randomly chose someone by the tea house to lure the old lady out."

"Still, you as a target are quite good too. Those people wanted to kill two birds with one stone, so they made their move."

"Me, with such a Heavenly Mandate, could block disaster for someone else?"

In the guest room, An Jing, who was sketching the map of Ming City, raised his eyebrows, "But indeed, Granny Huai is no ordinary person... However, she is neither a Martial Artist nor a Talisman Holder."

"What background does she have that allows those people not to dare to act openly? And judging by Head Constable Wang’s attitude, she seems to have an unexpectedly high status."

Putting down his brush, An Jing picked up the paper to examine the schematic map of Ming City he had drawn.

Recently, An Jing had memorized all the streets of Ming City he had traversed and then erased all the details, restating everything purely with lines on paper.

In this way, the structure of the entire city became quite clear.

Like Da Chen and even the cities on the North Mysterious Sacrifice Continent, Ming City was built on an Earth Pulse Node. To be more accurate, without being situated on an Earth Pulse Node, it wouldn’t qualify as a city, but rather a larger village or a stronghold constructed of stone.

Da Chen cities have two branches of governance, civil and military. Aside from the major cities of the prefecture government, a city of Ming City’s level would definitely have a Martial Meridian Grandmaster, as well as a supportive official, who possesses at least an Inner Strength equivalent to the "Landscape Talisman."

After the death of Wei Yang Fist, that local official capable of Granting Talisman must be located at the central Earth Pulse Node of Ming City, which is to say, guarding the official grand hall.

"Taking the Ming government office as the center, a pattern of four Yin and four Yang can be deduced, which is also the pattern of most cities."

An Jing analyzed the Feng Shui flow of the city according to the map, under the guidance of the Sword Spirit: "Military barracks and armory. Marketplaces and gatherings. Streets along the river, residential housing. Prison locations. Craftsman workshops. Pharmacies and clinics. Martial Arts Academy."

"Huai’s Teahouse is located right on one of the nodes of the four Yin patterns... it seems there really are people who want to target Granny Huai because of the node."

"It’s just that I’m not sure why they are only dealing with her now and happened to encounter me."

Having confirmed that he might have just run into the situation, An Jing couldn’t help but complain, "This Fate Pattern really acts like a catalyst; it seems to trigger a concentration of problems wherever I go?"

In response to An Jing’s confusion, the Sword Spirit remained quite calm, "Let’s not talk about the recent times, which have been a period when the City Lord is away, the Heavenly Demon is lurking, and various powers are unstable. Even if it really is due to you, you shouldn’t find it strange."

"Fate is entangled with causation. Its force is like that of a primary magnet, attracting each other."

"Life Holders are bound to meet other Life Holders involuntarily in the world of fate, and their lives will never be peaceful."

"On the contrary, those who hope for a peaceful life, only wishing to live comfortably without ambition, are certainly unable to awaken a Fate Pattern."

"Of course, even the simple desire to cook tastier meals counts as ambition. Such a person would also be drawn into disputes like a ’Kitchen God competition’... In short, with your Heavenly Mandate Fate Pattern, it’s not unusual for things to explode wherever you go."

"And..."

The Sword Spirit’s tone rose slightly, with a hint of teasing, "Isn’t this what you hoped for?"

"Indeed."

An Jing also smiled. At this moment, he was indeed interested in the secrets hidden behind it all, "I really want to see what kind of medicine these people are actually selling in their gourds."